bigclive

Inside a Duracell PB2 power bank.

An upmarket power bank for a change.  I got this earlier in the year but hadn't run a full test on it yet.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W5anaHXMrhk

I've still not completed the final charge capacity test.  That should be complete in a few hours hopefully.  (UPDATE) Test completed at a respectable 6400mAh.

Tubular uplight.

I'm not sure how this video turned out.  It's one of those ones where I feel unsure if it's good enough to release.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qt4QvuZKgGw

I was expecting the light to be a solid machined core and it's quite interesting how they have used existing materials with the addition of machined parts to achieve that look.  Theoretically it could be scaled upwards by those wit...

Quick update.

I just thought I'd drop in a short update video to show you guys what I was doing this evening.  A bottle of wine, ongoing adjustments to a DIY lava lamp while also writing a bit of machine code software (assembler) to run a series of test screens on the video wall panel out of the pink plastic handbag toy.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wlMt7sWAndk

The video is just of the video wall panel. ...

Bigger projects in the background.

Just so you guys know, I'm working on some bigger things in the background.  So it's not all LED head lights and power banks.

I'm just fine tuning a few other things that take a long time to test due to lots of tweaking.

Detachable head torch power bank.

This seems fitting after several people mentioned this style of USB flashlight converter.  I got this a while back, but they still sell them.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5f7_AI9H3N4

It's interesting in that it's a head torch that doubles up as a low current <800mA power bank.

Video wall handbag?

I'm getting right back into the swing of things again.  Here's a look inside a plastic handbag toy that just so happens to have a full-on LED video wall panel.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyLCwa2mneY

I rarely get to play with video walls, so it's been nice to get to do a bit of reverse engineering on a panel and discover that it's actually very simple and requires constant data to display ...

Meter shaft repair.

I finally got round to fitting the new contact assembly into my favourite bench meter.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMEeB-WVdbw

It's good to have it back in action again.

Very nicely designed PIR light.

This video is so fresh that it may not have finished processing all the different resolutions yet.  YouTube tends to make it available in 360P first and then release the higher resolution options as they finish processing.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSkzXqkWayg

This is a very nice little PIR light.  Very sensibly designed without too much corner cutting, and actual tech specs on the ...

Setting the Ruideng meter to English.

Little bit of extra footage intended as a short PSA on YouTube for those who have accidentally set the language of their Ruideng meter to Chinese.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=99qP7rXDOyU

These are nice little USB testers.  I've been using them to measure charge mAh on a lot of power banks recently.

The reason for the video is that it's incredibly easy to accidentally set the language...

USB flashlight adapter mods.

These little things are neat.  I've provided an eBay search link in the video description on YouTube, so if you want some I'd suggest grabbing them from the cheaper listings now before I release the video and the price inevitably shoots up.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wL8MYTPIuZk

You might also want to grab some 1W or 3W "beads" (as the Chinese sellers call them) to convert the colour to o...

Light with hidden feature.

I'm not sure why two of the cell positions were so firmly blocked off.  Is there some shipping rule for when something like this gets shipped with cells pre-loaded?  This one came empty.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jBrBBmA_Rjo

It's quite a functional light - particularly with the increased capacity.  A full charge of good cells could keep you in light and power for a long weekend...

Prototype from the past.

I built this back in 1999 to test at a local nightclub.  It was really just an experiment to see how small and simple the circuitry could be made.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8tf7x02AyRA

I then tested it by going to a nightclub and drinking cider while observing its behaviour in response to the increasing volume during the evening.

LiFePO4 versus standard lithium.

A closer look at the LiFePO4 cell that was in the solar street light.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=53n2pw5M9m4

Plus a look at the protection circuit that matches the different voltage ratings.

How I test lithium cell capacity.

A quick look at how I test the capacity of power banks and lithium cells.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OaZxLxgf7Ro

The capacity test is made a lot easier by the extremely high charging efficiency of lithium cells.

"Sealed" Solar street light.

I've not actually completed this video fully.  It's so fresh that the electrical tests for the description area are still ongoing.

https://youtu.be/kGi7Y-mB_OY

I've also not viewed the completed video yet, so my apologies if it's rambly.  It took a lot longer to make that expected with a lot of extra bits.

Fairy Glen has gone sinister.

When my brother (Ralfy) and I were kids we were taken to a magical illuminated glen in Douglas (Isle of Man) called Fairy Glen (Summerhill Glen).  Back then it was very simple with illuminated waterfalls and bridges, and internally illuminated fibreglass figures.

We tend to visit it every Christmas, although the last few years have been a bit disappointing with a lot of the lighting out.  This year made up for it with a full display and this very dark and sinister display base...

Grinch alert.

Not my video.  This hilarious video shows an old lady giving a strong message.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I0vyA90X9ns

I'm not sure if maybe she's just got an issue with the flashing lights keeping her awake at night or if she was trying to get some of the pretty flashing flowers off the tree.

Have a great Christmas.

Hope you have a great Christmas full of technical delights.  Remember, eBay and Amazon are open if Santa has failed to deliver acceptable technical presents.

Manx Beard Club Xmas party.

It's entirely up to you if you want to watch this now or on the big day itself.  It's a LONG video full of random conversation, some profanities, tasty snacks and various alcoholic potions.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8QO1BYVev4

Grab a drink and some snacks and join in.

Purple gothic LED star hack.

This video started off as a simple look at the inside of a common LED tree topper and then took a distinctly devious twist with the replacement of the LEDs with a purple string.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=axEqM8eBuxY

To finish it off I added a bare USB plug onto the end of a string of parallel LEDs with the plug and resistors potted into a solid block using hot melt glue and heatshrink sleevin...

Smoke machine meltdown autopsy.

The way this smoke machine has failed is spectacular.  It has literally melted its heater block into a puddle of aluminium in the base.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ZGGgb3iFpg

This is one of the most amazing failures I've seen.  The machine is also an education in how not to design the electrics of a product.

Poopy Poundland Power Pod.

This thing isn't terribly practical from a size to power ratio perspective.  But it does deliver its poopy USB goods.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ID1klW5GYdk

I haven't a clue what's happening with Brexit so I decided to dedicate this video to it anyway.

Mystery ropelight.

On my usual pre-Christmas mooching around the shops for desirable lighting stuff I spotted rolls of ropelight in a local Ramsey hardware store called Feltons.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ssitg_xcAiI

I have to admit that the main incentive for buying it was the mismatch between the front picture on the box (tungsten ropelight) and the electrical specification on the back (31V 3.6W) which alludes to LED...

Electric lunch or bento box.

These units seem to be quite nicely made with a simple heating system.  But I wonder if they pose any food hygiene hazard if they are used in a cold works van and heat the food very slowly.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL0hHm9bsjY

It's bound to have other uses like keeping resins at a higher temperature before use to get faster curing, or maybe even to help drive moisture out of materials.

Another very pleasing 12V lamp.

This must be one of my favourite 12V lamps to date.  The circuitry is minimal and the construction seems good.  I could see lamps like this paving the way for whole house DC lighting systems, and it's perfect for off-grid applications or even use in ultra safe low voltage festoon lighting that could be used at low level.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=En8-2V-Pkm8

Once again I've included a sear...

Very clever self-loading swab.

No electronics - just something very clever that clearly took a lot of research to perfect.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ivpU-4LJaZk

Next video is going to be back to LEDs and electronics, but this one does have its electronic uses.

There are eBay search links in the video's description.  If you want some, buy-em now in case the YouTube effect occurs and the price goes up.  I guarantee ...

Butchered Starbucks charger.

Sorry for the little dip in content output recently, I was in Glasgow for a week visiting friends, checking out the (lacklustre) Xmas lighting displays and looking for suitable Christmassy tat for disassembly on the channel.

While waiting at the airport for my flight back to the Isle of Man I saw this butchered socket in the Starbucks coffee shop.  I plugged a load into the other socket to see if the supply had been completely shorted and it had.

2018-12-12 01:21:22 +0000 UTC View Post

Failing LED tubes.

I spotted this while hunting for electronic tat in Glasgow.  It's a rather crappy LED lighting conversion in a large store.

https://youtu.be/Gkx6QPPI5TA

This is a Patreon-only snippet of video.

Unusual LED lamp shape?

I'm not sure if these lamps are based on an existing style of lamp or if they are specifically designed to match the beam angle of LEDs for maximum front intensity.  It seems to work quite well.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4B97gkRcwXA

They look good, but as always with these small lighting-festoon style lamps they have a poor power factor which means that the cable and control system sees a much ...

Wish I got this speed on the IOM.

Toto, I've a feeling I'm not on the Isle of Man at the moment...

This is the typical connection speed I get using my phone as a 4G hotspot on the Three network while visiting Glasgow.

It always takes me by surprise when videos and images upload fast.  Then there's the disappointment of returning to the Isle of Man with its somewhat less impressive speeds and tendency to "pauses" making streaming or VOIP calls very glitchy.

Maybe one day....